Manufacturing and industrial plants all come with a list of potential safety hazards. Along with those hazards, you as the plant owner have to maintain safety standards such that every employee can do his or her job and not be injured in the line of duty, as it were. You have to remain OSHA compliant, which is the basis for all safety standards in your business.
To maintain adequate safety standards, there are just a few key things you need to follow. When you and your employees follow these specific rules, workplace injuries are nearly non-existent. However, you should never become complacent. Remain always vigilant in the following.
Every Employee Should Receive Proper Training for the Jobs They Are Expected to Do
It goes without saying that an employee that is not trained on how to operate an overhead crane or an automatic girth welder should not be directed to use these pieces of equipment. Yet, a large percentage of workplace injuries are the result of employees using equipment for which they are not adequately or fully trained. Each employee hired should know how to operate the machinery and equipment in the plant that they are specifically required to operate.
If a new hire doesn’t know how to operate something, supervisors should be making sure new hires are getting the training they need. Supervisors should be keeping a good record of completed training too. As the plant owner and the person responsible for maintaining safety standards, you need to check these training records every couple of weeks to once a month, depending on how often your company hires new employees.
Proper Use of PPE
PPE, or Personal Protection Equipment, has been getting a lot of press lately as it relates to the hospitals and medical staff. In your plant PPE has its place and function too. Your employees should have everything they need to protect their eyes, heads, skin, clothes, and feet as it relates to their specific job duties.
To be compliant with OSHA, you are required to provide all necessary PPE. You also have to have safety supervisors report back when PPE has failed, new PPE is needed, or used PPE needs to be replaced to keep employees safe. This equipment protects everyone working in the plant.
Despite the fact that common sense should be common, it isn’t. Training and expectations for workplace behavior facilitate and support common sense practices. Make sure everyone working for you is on the same page, and safety will be upheld.